Recession Hits Home- I think I’m going to lose my job

Posted by Mrs Money on October 27th, 2008

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I’ve been putting this off for a few days, but it’s inevitable, and the sooner I write about it, the sooner I can come up with a plan. On Friday, the financial institution I work for was purchased by another bank. The only problem? The bank has many branches already existing in the area I work. The odds they’re going to shut down my branch (and leave me without a job) are very high right now. It makes me sick to my stomach to think of this, but I need to come up with a plan, and make sure I can execute it.

No spending month is going to be no spending ever. Well, really we can’t do that, but we can make sure we’re not spending money on things we don’t need. I think doing the no spending month has prepared me in many ways to cut back, and it’s also taught me a lot about what I can do instead of spending money, and how little things we actually need. We’re just going to have to be really careful, and I’m hoping that we can make it on Mr. Money’s income. Of course, I’ll have snowflake money (that I usually use to pay off debt), and I can try harder to make money online, and that should definitely help. I’ve been trying to sell things on craigslist and ebay, but haven’t had much success with that.

The market is going to be saturated with people looking for new banking jobs. With the amount of branches that I’m anticipating will be closing, it’s going to be really hard to find a new job in my field. I am thinking about going back to school for nursing, but I don’t want to take out more student loans. I’m going to wait and see what happens before I decide to go back to school.

This is going to allow us the opportunity to see if we can really live on one income. I’ve always wanted to stay at home when we have children, and this is going to be our trial run. I’m nervous but glad we’ve got our emergency fund, and you bet that any extra money I find in the next few months will be going straight into our emergency fund.

I never thought this was going to happen. I thought our bank was safe, I thought my job was safe, I thought I would retire from this company. I’m really let down, but I’m going to make the best of this situation.

Do you have any advice for me? What would you do if you were in my shoes?

Oh no! I hope everything works out for you. Isn’t life crazy? They might not close your branch. They will probably want extras to service all the new customers they picked up, besides… changes like that take a very long time to come about. They are going to want to transition the customers as smoothly as possible.

Aw man, I’m really sorry to hear. It’s still possible that your job is safe. And, any changes that might go into effect won’t probably happen for at least a month or so.

I think I know which bank you’re talking about — my bank just got bought by a major national bank on Friday (and I think it was the only one).

As a customer, I’m going to be really mad if I can’t go to my branch anymore, and have to go to the new one.

It’s possible that they’ll keep a bunch of branches open so that they can continue to deal with all the customers.

Even if you do lose your job, this could be a good thing. Since you hope to live on one income in the future, doing so right now could actually help you in the long run.

I’m 8 months pregnant, and we’ve been living off of my husband’s income (and my supplemental side stuff) for about a year. If we suddenly went on one income now or shortly after our baby was born, I would have NO CLUE how to be a budget-conscious homemaker.

I wouldn’t necessarily know how to do the drugstore deals, get my groceries for cheap, or a variety of other things.

And, if people are used to two incomes, it just becomes that much harder to go to one on down the road.

As far as advice goes, if I were in your shoes, I’d slow down the debt repayment a bit and pad my emergency savings a bit more. Sounds like that’s what you’re going to do anyways.

Sounds like you are really thinking ahead. Hopefully you won’t lose your job but it would be interesting if you went ahead and starting trying to live on the one income. Cut to the bone before you actually have to.

That’s what I’m doing — I started the job search in September, the minute the rumors started swirling that everyone in my job classification will soon be out on the street.

It’s surprising how much work is out there.

If you have another earner in your household and your dream is to go into nursing, you may not have to look for another job in banking. Think of alternative jobs — just try to help keep bread on the table. Then work on figuring out how you can angle yourself into nursing school.

BTW, many institutions provide employees a tuition waiver as a perk. The jobs are pitifully paid, but the tuition waiver is worth a lot of money. At my university, a 50% FTE job will get you benefits…including the waiver. This is a good way to help send yourself through nursing school: see if you can get a p/t admin job (or ANY kind of benefits-eligible work) at the desired college or university and then take advantage of it to fund your coursework.

I hope that doesn’t happen! I’d suggest getting your CV out there to a few recruitment agencies just incase. It sounds like you’re not 100% decided on staying home full time, so it won’t hurt to be spreading your options while you make up your mind. Good luck!

I was lucky enough to have any time I needed for interviews prior to my only layoff. I suppose a branch closing is a bit different though. I hope it all works out for you.

Also – if they close the branch down they may let you do the ‘re-apply’ for your existing job with another branch thing they do sometimes. If they do you may not lose your job even if they do close the branch.

Ashley- I’ve heard it can take around 23 months. I am just going to wait it out and see what happens. Thanks for your thoughts!

Kacie- I sent you an email.

Amber- Thanks for your comment! I think it would be a lot harder for me if I had kids.

Funny about money- Thanks for the idea! I’ve got a friend that is a nurse, and I may try to network with her.

FruGal- I would love to stay home, but I am worried about what others would think (aka my family). I want to ultimately stay at home when we have kids and now would be the (almost) ideal time to transition.

Matt- thanks for stopping by! I think I am going to wait it out. Worst case scenario they will lay me off and I’ll collect unemployment. I’m anticipating they’ll hire me for their company. I’ve got to be optimistic!

That sucks, I’ve been “downsized” before and it’s just a better term for out on your ass. I was in a better spot then, my monthly bills were low enough that I could live on unemployment. Now, with a mortgage, I’d be screwed. If it happens definitely sign up for unemployment first thing, there is usually a one week wait. Start polishing up that resume and looking around, even if you don’t lose your job it doesn’t hurt to see what else is out there. I used my unemployment to explore other interests, caught up on my reading and tried new hobbies. If you’re thinking career change it’s the perfect opportunity to go another direction or go back to school. My best friend worked in mortgage lending and got laid off in the spring, fortunately for her she was expecting her first child and was getting ready to leave the workforce for awhile anyway. Hope everything works out for you.

I was laid of 6 weeks ago. I too worked for a large bank- 14 years. I thought I would retire there. I’m wondering if it’s the one that purchased your bank. Thank God we are debt free except for the mortgage. I’m using this time (as one of the commentors stated) to read and determine what I want to do next.

Miss M- Thanks for your comment! I think I’m just going to hang in there and see what happens. There’s a chance the merger could take 23 months or so so I may be safe for a little while longer. I can’t worry too much about it!

Yakezie!

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